The Astor Settlement

The Astor Settlement: Anthony Marshall’s Friends and Family React


By Meryl Gordon1:45 PM, March 29 2012

From Getty Images.

As the only child of New York’s beloved white-gloved philanthropist Brooke Astor, Anthony Marshall spent years preoccupied with how much he would inherit from his mother, who eventually died at age 105 in 2007. He envisioned a life in which he and his much younger third wife, Charlene, would not only live well but also have the pleasure of passing out the tens of millions left behind by his stepfather Vincent Astor, wielding clout on boards like the Metropolitan Museum.

But on Wednesday, Marshall, who was convicted three years ago of defrauding his mother’s estate, agreed to accept a settlement of a relatively paltry (for him) $14.4 million. Not only is this less than half of the riches that he expected, but the 87-year-old former ambassador also gave up all rights to distribute his mother’s charitable legacy. Since the four law firms that handled his criminal trial and probate fight have filed judgments totaling $11.6 million against him, he will not be awash in cash. “Mr. Marshall is pleased that a settlement has been reached,” his longtime lawyer Kenneth Warner wrote in a statement. “He is almost 88 years old and much prefers closure to an expensive and protracted litigation over his mother’s estate.”

Marshall’s wife, Charlene, who was nicknamed “Miss Piggy” by Brooke Astor’s staff for her avarice and singled out by prosecutors as the motivation for her husband’s crimes, will still receive a handful of controversial bequests. Although witnesses repeatedly testified during Tony Marshall’s trial that Brooke Astor detested her daughter-in-law, she left Charlene a 367-diamond snowflake necklace and matching earrings, along with two used fur coats. (The latter bequest was deliberately cruel of Astor, as the petite philanthropist knew full well that the coats would not fit their fuller-figured new owner. It was also a subtle reminder of the august roots of the Astor fortune, which blossomed in the 1780s through the fur trade.)

For Tony Marshall and his twin sons, this was the end of a six-year emotional ordeal. But the settlement is unlikely to lead to a rapprochement. Philip, a professor of historic preservation at Roger Williams College, and Alec, a photographer, both testified against their father in court in the summer of 2009. They have not seen or spoken to him since. When I reached Philip, who was driving through a gusty Massachusetts rainstorm on Wednesday, he sounded both relieved and sad. “We have no idea how our father is doing, and we don’t know who to ask,” he said. It was Philip who brought the original guardianship case against his father in 2006, charging him with depriving Brooke Astor of her upscale lifestyle and misusing her funds. That civil case was quickly settled, but prosecutors then pursued criminal charges.

Philip, who has always blamed his stepmother Charlene for the family woes, adds, “I do not foresee that there will be a reconciliation, but I wish the opportunity would come for us to talk together one-on-one. Without Charlene.”

After spending several years starring in a tabloid drama, Tony and Charlene Marshall have settled into a quieter existence. They are often seen by neighbors walking their dachshund near their Upper East Side co-op and summer at Brooke Astor’s former estate in Northeast Harbor, Maine. “They sound penurious, but happy to be together,” says Richard Osterweil, a painter and friend of the couple’s who loyally attended their trial and spoke to them two weeks ago.

Tony Marshall, who has had several heart attacks, grappled with significant health problems during the trial. As someone close to him says, “I would not say his health is good.” But Osterweil, in a phone interview, paints a more upbeat picture. “Tony had a bad year, but he’s feeling better. They’re able to go out for walks, and go to the theater.” Osterweil adds, “They like the idea of people knowing they have so little money—it’s like a badge of honor.”

The collapse of the New York real-estate market was partially responsible for the couple’s less-than-lavish inheritance. Under his mother’s 2002 will, Tony Marshall was set to inherit her stately Park Avenue duplex apartment (listed at $46 million but sold for $21 million), plus her Westchester home Holly Hill (listed for $12 million but sold for $7.5 million). He was also slated to receive a $5 million cash bequest and a yearly income of an estimated $4 million from a trust. But under probate law, Brooke Astor’s real estate was valued by its worth at her time of death in 2007, before the recession, rather than the actual sale price, so the estate taxes are ruinous.

At Marshall’s sentencing, Manhattan prosecutors had requested that he be fined $12.3 million, but the judge passed off that issue to probate court. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who negotiated this week’s settlement agreement, noted in a press release that Marshall’s inheritance would have totaled $31 million but that he had been penalized by the subtraction of the $12.3 million fine plus an additional $4.3 million given instead to charity.

The specter of a prison term still hangs over Marshall, who was a Nixon-era ambassador to Kenya, Madagascar, and Trinidad and Tobago. In December 2009, Tony and his lawyer Francis Morrissey were both sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison for attempting to defraud Mrs. Astor and her estate. The two remain out on bail while the case is on appeal. Both the defense team and prosecutors have taken ample time to file the paperwork, and the case is tentatively scheduled to be argued before the New York State Supreme Appellate Court in October. Even if his sentence is upheld, Tony Marshall is considered likely to be given compassionate parole because of his age. (Francis Morrissey, who is in his late 60s, will be in greater jeopardy of prison time if he loses. Morrissey is also hampered in the appeals fight because his trial lawyer, the well-regarded Thomas Puccio, recently died of leukemia.)

Back in October 2006, after the original civil settlement, Tony and Charlene were required to return jewelry, paintings, silver, and furniture worth more than $1 million to his mother’s estate. Under Wednesday’s probate settlement, Tony was allowed to choose $74,680 worth of her possessions. He went with a sentimental mix, including a pair of antlers (valued at $300), a grand piano, a first edition of David Copperfield, and a navy officer’s sword that belonged to his maternal grandfather, Major General Henry Russell. The most expensive item was a $40,000 painting of a donkey by Giovanni Tiepolo, and the least expensive was a $30 wall bracket painted to simulate a tortoise shell. The most poignant choice: a drawing of Anthony Marshall as a child, a reminder of innocent and happy mother-son times.

For Annette de la Renta, Brooke Astor’s closest friend and guardian, there was no solace to be found in her inherited possessions. De la Renta was entitled under the settlement to receive four of Mrs. Astor’s dog paintings, but has declined the gifts. “She wants the art or the proceeds to go to charity,” says her lawyer Paul Saunders. “She renounced her claims.” Henry “Terry” Christensen, who had been Brooke Astor’s lawyer and was vilified by prosecutors during the trial for not doing more to protect her interests, also gave up his right to a painting that she had left him.

Brooke Astor was never a major art collector, but she did own a valuable Childe Hassam painting, Flags Fifth Avenue, 1917, which her son sold for $10 million in 2002 to the Gerald Peters Gallery. (The gallery promptly re-sold it for $20 million to George Soros, who subsequently gave it to his wife Susan when they divorced.) The Metropolitan Museum sued Anthony Marshall, a former board member, for $20 million in damages for selling the painting, since Brooke Astor had originally left it to the museum in her will. Under the new settlement, the Met agreed to accept $3 million.

For a woman who left an estate worth more than $100 million, Mrs. Astor was not generous to her grandchildren: Philip and Alec Marshall will each receive $1 million. In the years since the family feud exploded, the gregarious Philip has become an advocate against elder abuse, speaking at conferences nationwide, while his press-shy brother, Alec, who used to live five minutes from his grandmother’s Westchester home, has moved to Vermont—although he continues to freelance in New York.

With news of the settlement, Attorney General Schneiderman jubilantly announced the creation of a new, $30 million Brooke Astor Fund for New York City Education. Astor, whose mother pulled her out of the Madeira School as a teenager for fear that education would make her unmarriageable, would undoubtedly have been pleased. But she likely would have been appalled to learn that the co-administrators of the estate, JP Morgan Chase Bank and retired judge Howard Levine, could potentially receive $5 million between them for their work.

Her beloved British butler, Chris Ely, who will receive a $50,000 bequest from the will, was delighted to hear about the settlement. In fact, he was planning to make his annual visit to Brooke Astor’s grave at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery this Friday, which would have been her 110th birthday.

“I want to get past the animosity and get some happy memories going again,” said Ely in a phone call. Trained at Buckingham Palace, he has now re-invented himself as an expert in high-end housekeeping and etiquette, teaching at the French Culinary Institute and writing a book about his craft. “I’d like to be able to laugh and think about the good times,” he said, and added, “I miss her. I do miss her.”

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http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2012/03/astor-settlement-anthony-marshall-reaction-brooke-charlene

Editor's note:  Whoa there Ki-mo-saby...Pardon your ProbateSharks language...but is this old fart socialite going to walk away without any "time"? Shame on the court if this thief is given "compassionate parole".  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com